Chile Elections 2021: “Let us show that we can resolve our differences in peace,” says Piñera after voting

The outgoing president of Chile, the conservative Sebastian Piñera, asked this Sunday to celebrate the results of the crucial general elections in a respectful and peaceful way ”and assured that“ there is much more that unites us than what divides us ”.

“I ask that once again we give an example to the world of how democracy works in Chile and to ourselves that we are capable of resolving our legitimate differences peacefully ”, indicated the president after depositing his vote in a place in eastern Santiago.

“We want that tonight, when we know the results, the celebrations are peaceful and respectful, as appropriate in democracy”, added Pinera, who will finish his second non-consecutive term in March 2022.

More than 15 million Chileans are called this Sunday to elect their successor and to completely renew the Chamber of Deputies and partially the Senate.

The polls agree that none of the seven presidential candidates will obtain 50% plus one of the votes necessary to win this Sunday and that the leftist deputy Gabriel Boric and the far-right lawyer Jose Antonio Kast They are the big favorites to go to the ballot on December 19.

They also have possibilities Yasna Provoste (center left) and Sebastian Sichel (ruling right), according to the latest polls published fifteen days before the electoral ban.

Pinera, 71 years old and with one of the lowest approvals since the return to democracy in 1990, asked the winners “not to forget that they were chosen to serve the people and that is why we ask them to contribute to improving the quality of politics ”.

One of the unknowns of the day is participation, since since 2012 no election has exceeded 50% of the electoral roll, except for the plebiscite on a new Constitution held in October 2019 (50.9%), a mark that could be beaten this Sunday, according to experts.

“All votes count, all opinions matter, and people’s participation gives strength to our democracy.” indicated the president, who last week the Senate decided not to dismiss him for a financial scandal revealed in the Pandora Papers.

The voting centers will close at 18:00 local time (21:00 GMT) and the first results are expected a couple of hours later.

_________________________________